Charity’s action call over child poverty

COUNCILS ACROSS Tayside and Fife last night said they are doing all they can to help families with low incomes as part of the fight to eradicate child poverty.

It comes after a leading Scots poverty charity warned that over 60,000 children in Tayside and Fife are growing up either below or close to the breadline.

John Dickie, head of Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, said children growing up in Dundee were at particularly high risk.

He was speaking ahead of the publication of the charity’s manifesto for ending child poverty, which they define as children in families living below 60% of median income.

The official low income figures in the manifesto were not broken down below Scotland but an indication of the number of families surviving on very low incomes was obtained from statistics on benefit and tax credit receipt.

Mr Dickie said the statistics provide a good indicator of which areas have the highest child poverty levels.

Across Scotland 19% of children live in families relying on benefits because they are out of work (or working less than 16 hours a week), and another 23% live in families receiving working tax credit.

This compares with 25% officially recognised as living in poverty.

The figures show there are 8410 children in low income families in Angus (37%), 14,840 in Dundee (55%), 30,790 in Fife (43%) and 9250 in Perth and Kinross (34%).

Of that total, 3510 children in Angus, 7200 in Dundee, 14,150 in Fife and 3380 in Perth and Kinross are from households said to be where no one works. Glasgow has the highest number of children living in jobless households with 37,340.

“Across the region over 60,000 children are growing up either below or close to the poverty line—that’s 60,000 children too many, with children growing up in Dundee at particularly high risk,” said Mr Dickie.

“For them, and children across Scotland, it is a matter of absolute urgency that UK ministers channel a major fiscal stimulus through benefits and tax credits for families in poverty.

“By using next month’s Budget to invest at least £3 billion in benefits and tax credits, Alistair Darling can keep the promise to halve child poverty by 2010, and boost the grassroots of the economy across Tayside, Fife and beyond.

“But this manifesto also demands action from the Scottish Government.

“Holyrood ministers need to build on the groundbreaking free school meals policy and tackle the other high costs that too often blight children’s education.

“But they also need to do more to remove barriers to work and make affordable childcare available to all parents, as well as invest in housing so that all our children grow up in warm, healthy and safe homes.”

Alistair Gaw, senior manager for children and families and criminal justice services in Fife Council’s social work service, said council services in the region were totally committed to working to protect the most vulnerable youngsters.

“This is a long-term commitment that involves our services working in partnership with each other and outside agencies to achieve the best results,” he said.

“These commitments are set out in our current integrated children’s services plan.

“Fife is a diverse area where there is relative wealth and also areas of deprivation.

“We are working to give youngsters across this whole spectrum of society the best possible chances in life.”

Councillor Peter Grant, leader of the administration, said, “In Fife Council we are showing how, with limited resources and limited powers, we can take effective action to help families on low incomes, either to help stop them falling into poverty or to mitigate its long-term effects.

“For example, by freezing the council tax for a second successive year we are giving some respite to hard- pressed families on low incomes.

“We successfully piloted free school meals for all children in the first three years of primary school.”

A spokesman for Dundee City Council said a number of successful partnerships have been established across departments, health, the police, voluntary groups and the private sector as part of an integrated approach to children’s services in the city.

“Over the last few years more than £8 million in previously unclaimed benefits has been paid out to people in Dundee,” he said.

“This includes families with young children and the money released has helped make a real difference to their lives.

“The Dundee Energy Efficiency Advice Project, run by the council, is tackling fuel poverty, with specialist advice on all energy-related issues, and helps families make the most of their incomes by saving on fuel costs.”

A spokeswoman for Angus Council said the authority believes that no young person in the county should be disadvantaged by poverty.

“We work closely with our community planning partners to implement a wide range of measures as part of our commitment to tackle child poverty and ensure positive outcomes for our young people,” she added.

Councillor Ian Miller, leader of Perth and Kinross Council, said the focus of the council’s work is directed at preventing symptoms of child poverty and supporting local businesses to improve the skills of those out of work.

“We are continuing to invest both in childcare services—so parents can return to education, training or employment—and in services to help maximise family incomes,” he said.

“In the 2009-10 budget, and at a time of rising unemployment, major additional financial support has been made available.

“Extra funding of £105,000 has been provided both to establish a credit union for Perth and Kinross, and to move the Citizens’ Advice Bureau to a more central location in Perth together with our welfare rights service.

“These measures will help more residents get the financial assistance, advice and support they need.

“In addition, an extra support package of over £1 million for jobs and the local economy has also been made available.

“We have also developed an employability strategy through the Perth and Kinross Community Planning Partnership that will help those currently out of work to enhance their chances of getting back into a job.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said children deserve the best possible start in life and it’s simply morally unacceptable that so many of our children live in poverty.

“We remain fully committed to the milestone, agreed by each of the four countries of the UK, of halving child poverty (from a 1998/99 baseline) by 2010, and are taking significant action to tackle child poverty within the powers available,” he said.

“In the meantime, the Scottish Government will continue to press the UK Government for significant additional investment in the benefits and tax credits system.”